Dark Horse (18 page)

Dav heard a squawk of alarm from the bridge, although Fu-tama had not put them on visual comms when heʼd been connected.

Borji flicked his fingers at the handheld and gave a nod. “Heʼs reversing.”

They waited a minute in tense silence, and Dav was aware that the admirals had picked up something was happening. Theyʼd both stepped into the passage, but to give them credit, neither tried to interfere.

“The weapons system has disengaged.” Borji lifted his arm and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“Councilor Fu-tama, you can stop where you are, but do not attempt to come forward until we give you permission.”

“Iʼm needed for a full United Council meeting.” Fu-tama finally came on-screen, and Dav remembered seeing the Garmman councilor before on visual comms reports. He had the bulging forehead and stocky build that was the Garmman norm, his silver-gray hair the only indication of his age. Heʼd had cosmetic work done to his face, and it didnʼt have a line on it, but Dav couldnʼt help thinking it was more a case of having erased the life from it, rather than reversed the aging process.

“Weʼll send out a runner to fetch you, see if that will work. But for now, your vessel will have to remain where it is unless you want it to be fired on.”

Both Hoke and Valu were close enough to hear the last part of his conversation, and Dav could see the shock on their faces.

“Did you just threaten to fire on a vessel?” Valu asked. Dav found it interesting that he didnʼt seem that concerned by the idea.

“No, sir. Remember when I briefed you about our taking the Class 5, I told you we didnʼt have control of the weapons system. It just locked on to a private ship entering the area, and we ordered it to reverse course until the system stood down.”

“Whatʼs a private vessel doing here? This is a no-go zone.” Hokeʼs eyes flared with temper.

“The vessel belongs to Councilor Fu-tama. The
Barrist
was informed he was coming in, but obviously the Class 5 doesnʼt care about that, and when he came into range, it got a lock on him.”

“Do you know why?” Hoke asked Borji.

Borji looked over at Dav, unwilling to answer. Dav agreed. There was no way he was discussing the clandestine comms someone on the
Barrist
had received in hearing distance of some of Appalʼs team, but more particularly, the vice-admirals and Captain Tio.

He shook his head. “There are other issues in play here, and I would need to have you alone on the
Barrist
before I would feel comfortable giving you the information.”

“Then I think weʼre done here.” Hoke straightened her jacket.

“I still have to take the United Council representatives through the Class 5.”

Hoke shook her head. “They can wait.”

F
ilavantri was angry
.

Rose could hear it in the clipped, breathless way she spoke when Rose asked her if she was available to have breakfast with her.

“Iʼm not sure,” the liaison officer said. “Weʼre waiting on Captain Jallanʼs pleasure. He was going to take us around the Class 5, but something more important seems to have come up.”

“Thatʼs fine.” Rose kept her voice light. She didnʼt like the idea of Dav and Filavantri at odds. They were her two closest allies on board. “Iʼll have breakfast in my room.”

“One moment . . .” Filavantri sounded thoughtful. “Rose, would you agree to an informal breakfast with the United Council representatives?” She made that humming sound. “I had planned to introduce you later anyway, so switching things around would mean we could stay on schedule.”

Rose ruffled her fingers through hair still damp from her shower. She really didnʼt want to meet the Battle Center group, or the United Council group, but there was no avoiding it. And if it calmed Filavantri down . . . “I suppose I have to some time. Now is as good a time as any.”

“We wonʼt meet in your room. That would be too much of an invasion. Iʼll have your guards bring you to the private dining room off the officersʼ mess.”

“All right.” Rose leaned against the table when Filavantri disconnected, looked at herself in the mirror. She looked rested after her deep sleep, and she was wearing her hyr fabric, fashioned into a form-fitting top and trousers.

“We have to go to breakfast with the United Council,” she said to Sazo.

“I gathered.” He sounded subdued. “Be careful, Rose. I think one of the councilors is behind some of what happened to you.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because an unidentified vessel came into our territory and I considered shooting it. Thereʼs no question in my mind it was the vessel that sent the comm to whoever is betraying the Grih on the
Barrist
. It belongs to one of the United Council representatives, the member for Garmma.”

“Iʼm surprised the Barrist didnʼt take aim, too, if it was unidentified.”

“It wasnʼt unidentified to
them,
” Sazo said. “Just to me, because Iʼm not in their system yet.”

“Sazo——”

“Rose. The clock is ticking. Get me into the system.”

She sighed. “I donʼt even know if I can.”

“Just let me know the login for the standalone handheld. Iʼll see what I can do.”

She tugged a brush through her hair, pulling harder than she needed to. “Iʼm afraid, Sazo. Iʼm worried youʼre going to panic or get too angry, and do something you canʼt take back.”

There was a chime at the door, and smoothing a hand over her hair, Rose went to check the screen to see who it was. Her guards stood to attention outside, waiting for her to answer.

She went back for her Tecran handheld, relieved to put off this argument with Sazo a little longer. “Iʼll take this with me, so you can listen in.” She didnʼt wait for him to answer, she tucked her crystal necklace below her neckline, opened the door, and stepped into the corridor with her guards.

It was Vree Halim and Jay Xaltro. They must be on permanent Rose duty.

Jay Xaltro stepped back, and then bent her head over her hands. “I apologize for yesterday. I should have shielded you from the crowd, but I didnʼt realize you would be so upset by the applause.”

Rose looked up at her, trying to read any censure into that statement. Perhaps there was a hint that she thought Rose was being a little too delicate.

Rose shook her head. She refused to explain herself and her reaction. She might be delicate at the moment, but sheʼd come by it honestly. “Youʼre taking me to breakfast with the United Council?”

They nodded, and in less than five minutes they were ushering her into a small room off a well-appointed dining room. There was a central table with twelve chairs, and eleven of them were already filled. Two seats were occupied by Tecran, and Rose froze in place, trying to breathe.

One of the Tecran noticed her reaction and stood, glaring at her, and Rose finally found she could move, stepping back and bumping into Vree Halimʼs chest.

He lifted a hand to her shoulder and then stepped to her side, hand on the stock of his gun.

There was a sudden silence in the room.

Filavantri had stood when they came in, and she scowled at the Tecran councilors. “Sit down, Councilor Yir. Youʼve been told Rose has suffered abuse by your people, leaping to your feet in a threatening manner is not helpful.”

Yir glared at her. “So far, that abuse is nothing more than the word of an orange——”

“Enough.” A man stood. He didnʼt raise his voice, but there was such command in his tone, everyone fell silent.

He was Bukarian, like Filavantri, and Rose noticed there was a second Bukarian councilor as well, so two of each of the signatories were represented, and Filavantri, as the liaison.

Rose should have expected there would be Tecran present, but she hadnʼt. Sheʼd hoped never to see one again.

“Welcome, Rose McKenzie.” The man who spoke looked over at her and bowed. “Iʼm the chair of this committee, and my name is Kaniga Jamoria. Councilors Yir and Nuu are understandably upset at the idea that their compatriots would do the things they are accused of. However, that is no excuse for rudeness, or threats.”

He lifted a handheld, tapped the screen, and all around the room soft pings sounded. “Iʼve sent the lens feed evidence of Roseʼs treatment at Dr. Fliap and Captain Geeʼs hands to all of you. You can view it later, but Roseʼs testimony is not the only evidence of wrongdoing, and Iʼd like to stress that, as I gather there has already been an attempt on her life. Killing her will not make these accusations or this investigation go away.” He paused and Rose saw varying degrees of shock on the faces around the table at the news. “In fact, Iʼd say if anything happens to Rose, this matter will never be laid to rest until the truth is discovered.”

“Are you accusing the Tecran of trying to kill her?” Yirʼs voice was hushed.

“I donʼt know who tried to kill her, but they obviously thought they had something to lose by her being alive. At the time, no one but a select few knew of this lens feed evidence, so they perhaps assumed if Rose was dead, her accusations would die with her. That is not the case. And that is ignoring the physical evidence in the cells, as well as Dr. Fliapʼs own notes and observations. All of which have been secured and make for damning reading.”

There was another round of silence.

“Rose? Would you like to take a seat?” Filavantri looked stricken, and guilty.

She obviously hadnʼt thought the meeting would be so confrontational, and Rose looked at the place set out for her, with her favorite food, and realized it felt like a stone was lodged in her throat. She didnʼt feel hungry, but there was a cup of grinabo, and when Filavantri pulled out her chair, she slowly left Vree Halimʼs side, and sat.

Jay Xaltro had taken up a position near the door Rose realized, her angle such that she could have covered both Rose and Halim if someone had started shooting. She sent both her guards a small, grateful smile.

“Does she talk?” Yir glared at her.

“I talk.” She spoke Grihan, even though heʼd asked the question in Tecran. “I have a lot to say, but I was told this was simply an informal gathering, to meet everyone. I didnʼt realize you would expect me to go into the details of my imprisonment over breakfast.”

There was another round of silence. It was obviously a day of shocks for the councilors.

“She speaks Grihan,” one of the Grihan councilors exclaimed.

Rose stared at her. “Yes.”

The woman blushed. “My apologies for talking around you. I thought communicating with you would be difficult, but . . . how do you speak Grihan?”

“I was given a handheld with all five United Council languages while I was imprisoned. Perhaps Dr. Fliap wanted to know how fast I could learn them. I had nothing else to do, so I learned Grihan and Tecran, and can understand a little of the other three.”

Councilor Yir tapped the edge of his handheld on the table, agitated.

“We will need in-depth questioning, to find out where she is from. She is clearly as advanced a sentient as anyone at this table.” The woman who spoke was long and thin, almost insect-like with her elegant limbs and large eyes. Her voice was soft.

“We havenʼt come across her like in 500 years,” her fellow councilor agreed. “Her discovery is breathtaking, and yet, soured by the terrible circumstances under which she was found.”

“Her resemblance to the Grih is also astonishing.” The other Grihan councilor was staring at her.

“And I believe she is what you call a music-maker,” Filavantri said, and Rose shot her a horrified look.

“I am not a music-maker.” She said it firmly.

“Just your speaking voice sounds like music to my ears,” the woman whoʼd first exclaimed over her Grihan said. “I would love to hear you sing.”

Rose hunched over her plate, and forced herself to pick up a piece of bread, put it in her mouth, and chew.

Beside her, Filavantri put a hand on her knee and squeezed, without looking at Rose or acknowledging the gesture.

She would have to face this, strong, proud and dauntless, Rose realized. The alternative was curling up in a corner and giving up, and there was no way she was doing that.

A
dmiral Hoke leaned back
in her chair and gave Dav a narrow-eyed look. “Youʼre saying thereʼs a traitor on board the
Barrist
? Someone in clandestine communication with another ship, which may or may not be the vessel Councilor Fu-tama arrived in?”

Dav nodded. “Yes.”

“And the Class 5 locked onto Councilor Fu-tamaʼs ship because there was a high chance it was the same ship that sent the original comm? A comm it clearly sees as an enemy communication.”

Borji shrugged. “It must have a sequence programmed that anyone using that specific comm method is likely to be an enemy.”

“This means there could be a third party involved. Someone hostile to the Tecran who killed the Class 5 crew, but just happened to do it right in the middle of our territory. And if it was Councilor Fu-tama who communicated with the
Barrist
, that third party could be Garmman.”

Dav had to give it to Admiral Hoke, she got right down to the heart of the matter. He sent her a confirming nod.

“So what are you doing to uncover the traitor?” Valu tipped back his chair.

“Everything we can.” Dav thought of Rose after the attempt on her life, clinging to the side of the pool. “He tried to kill Rose.”

Hoke went still, and then her chair came down with a thump. “How?”

“Tried to drown her while she was swimming.” Appal crossed her arms over her chest.

Valu swore, drawing out the obscenity until a sharp look from Hoke shut him up.

“She didnʼt see him, obviously, or youʼd have him.” Hoke pushed back her chair.

“No.” Dav stood as well, and just then, his comm unit chimed. He accepted the comm, and went very still as he listened to Jay Xaltro. “Iʼll be right there.”

As he turned for the door, Admiral Hoke stepped in his way. “We arenʼt done here, Captain.”

“We are for now.” Dav stepped around her. “Rose has been thrown to the wolves.”

He tried not to run on the way to the officersʼ mess. Appal, obviously deciding sheʼd better come with him, easily kept up.

“What is it?” Her boots slapped in rhythm with his as they strode.

“Dimitara invited Rose to breakfast with her, and brought the whole United Council. Xaltro says Rose didnʼt expect the Tecrans and was visibly upset by their presence. They arenʼt that happy to see her, either.”

“Well, sheʼs about to land them in a heap of trouble.” Appal didnʼt sound very sorry for them.

Dav shot her a look and she grinned at him, easing some of the tension and fury he felt.

Xaltro and Halim would keep her safe, and there was no way the Tecran or anyone else would openly attack her in front of their fellow councilors on a Grihan ship. At the most, she was upset and unhappy, but he had found over and over that she was made from very strong stuff.

He managed to slow his pace to something resembling a brisk walk by the time he reached the officersʼ mess and stepped into the private dining area. Appal was right behind him, and everyone looked up as they entered the room.

Dimitara looked relieved and chastened. “Everything all right, Captain?”

“You tell me, Dimitara.” Dav looked deliberately around the room.

Rose lifted her head, caught his gaze, and took a sip from her mug. He had heard of knees going weak, but he had never experienced it before. The look in her eyes——relief, happiness to see him and something that was suspiciously close to affection——made him feel a little lightheaded.

“Given your inability to take us to the Class 5, I arranged for an informal meeting with Rose instead.” There was no mistaking the defensiveness in her voice.

“Is that so? I thought we had agreed that when it came to Rose, we would consult with one another before anything was arranged.”

Dimitara looked down. “I had forgotten that. Youʼre right, and you have my apologies.”